Watershed Management Project Research Articles

Community Agricultural Projects and Poverty Reduction; A Case Study of Community-Based Watershed Management Project in Kirehe District, Rwanda

Community Agricultural Projects and Poverty Reduction; A Case Study of Community-Based Watershed Management Project in Kirehe District, Rwanda

How previous experiences shape actors' current perspectives in integrated natural resource management

Abstract Previous experiences play a multifaceted role in shaping current perspectives in integrated natural resource management. We used qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey to study the similarities and differences in terms of the links between the diverse actors' previous experiences and their current perspectives on the various issues to be resolved in a real‐world integrated watershed management project. We found that the quantity and quality of experiences in past projects including water management, participation and politics are dissimilarly linked to the information, mental models and beliefs of perspectives regarding present issues. More experienced actors generally have broader perspectives than less experienced actors. Less experienced actors are particularly curious about approaches to water management. Actors with more experience in water management are more focused on ecological issues due to positive experience. Actors with more experience in participation are more sceptical about constructive solutions due to negative experience. Actors with more experience in politics emphasise the importance of agriculture and learning processes due to positive or negative experience. Actors with more negative experience in water management, participation and politics can nevertheless be motivated for participatory processes and integrated natural resource management. We conclude that previous experiences are critical factors that should be considered when designing participatory processes in integrated natural resource management. It could be valuable to include mixed compositions of actors with different types of previous experiences and different aspects of current perspectives to benefit from their complementary strengths. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Understanding the role of scientific knowledge transfer in the women's participation and farmer activities in Central Java

The forest turns to agricultural land in the Serayu watershed in Central Java, Indonesia. The Strengthening Community-Based Forest and Watershed Management (SCBFWM) project aims to improve and expand the Indonesian government's community-based forest and watershed management programs. The study's objectives are: 1) investigate the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of scientific findings in everyday life; 2) analyze the potential impacts of alternative strategies for the development of farming systems in the watershed on rural livelihoods; and 3) analyze the rules and governance structure that organizes the action of actors and how decisions are made. We use the RIU (Research-IntegrationUtilization) Model to examine how scientific research can yield effective policy advice and decision-maker's role in transforming advice into effective problem-solving. The findings that emerged from the research demonstrated that the district government cares about the environment but does not prohibit upstream potato cultivation strictly. When the SCBFWM project was established, cultivation restrictions were implemented. The research on the importance of women's participation in watershed management was communicated to the district administration and included in the SCBFWM project's proposal, but the actual action was different. The RIU model demonstrated that high-quality science is insufficient without efficient integration and acknowledges the inherent divergent interests within science and policy

Analysing farmers’ learning for socio-ecological stewardship in Eastern Uganda: A transformative learning ecology perspective

This paper analyses how smallholder farmers are learning for socio-ecological stewardship in a specific case study context in Eastern Uganda. The case under analysis is a watershed management project that uses an integrated farm planning (PIP) approach to strengthen farmers’ stewardship capacities within the Manafwa watershed through interactive and dialogic ways of engaging and teaching farmers. Utilizing a transformative learning ecology (TLE) perspective, this study investigated features of the PIP approach that support transformative learning for socio-ecological stewardship in a rural context. Data was collected by interviewing eighteen farmers from different villages and PIP generations and all three PIP trainers of the project, and by observing training sessions as well as sensitisation workshops. As a main result, the study yielded new insights that can help enhance PIP-like learning configurations consisting of interconnected learning tenets, dimensions and processes. This enhanced learning configurating comprises an organic learning system that facilitates farmers to change their mindsets and redefine their values, perspectives, routines, and practices towards those that encourage socio-ecological stewardship. The TLE fostered by the PIP approach represents a useful heuristic that can guide and inspire both scholars and educators engaged in processes of cultivating socio-ecological stewardship in similar contexts.

Implementasi Model Soil dan Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Dalam Pengelolaan Das Mikro Sei Tanduk

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model which is integrated with the Geographic Information System (GIS) can provide an overview or prediction of the influence of land management on the hydrology of the Micro Sei Tanduk watershed in accordance with the interests of evaluating and monitoring watershed management activities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the management of the Sei Tanduk Micro watershed based on land use patterns, as a basis for determining the best recommendations for planning and evaluating the Indragiri Rokan Watershed Management Project Activities for Fiscal Year 2003 by compiling a Master Plan for the Micro Sei Tanduk Watershed Master Plan Rumbio Village, Kampar Regency. The research method is to process primary and secondary data using a SWAT model that is integrated with GIS in analyzing hydrological characteristics in land use scenarios in the management of the Micro Sei Tanduk watershed, as a basis for providing recommendations. The best recommendation from the evaluation and analysis of the Micro Sei Tanduk watershed management based on land use patterns is scenario 2 in the form of applying agroforestry on mixed dry land agriculture with the insertion of forestry trees based on community participation in the Micro Sei Tanduk watershed, Rubio Village, Kampar District, Kampar Regency.

Resuscitating Ecological Balance in Palnadu District Watershed Development Programme Using Micro-Watershed Approach

Aim: This study was taken up to understand the impact of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) Integrated Watershed Management Project (IWMP) interventions on components of Natural Resource Management (NRM) including land productivity, reclamation,land use pattern, water resource replenishment and conservation along with availability and access of drinking waterin Palnadu District of Andhra Pradesh.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted by Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department, Andhra Pradesh from 2009 to 2022.
 Methodology: The primary data was collected through the field surveys conducted by the MEL&D team of NABCONS during May 2022, covering all 17 Micro Watersheds under four sanctioned PMKSY projects. The secondary data about the projects and watershed interventions was obtained from the DPRs of the projects.
 Results: There is a significant reduction in the wasteland area from 198.2 Acres to 126 Acres, which indicates there is an improvement in cultivated area. Irrigated area and fodder area increased by 61.9 Acresand 47 acres respectively. As a result of Natural Resource Management (NRM) works the gross cropped area in the micro watershed increased by 114.5 acres which generate additional employment and income for the farmers.
 Conclusion: Implementation of watershed projects had resulted in a significant improvement in natural resource management as evidenced in terms of increases in wasteland reclamation, improving the quantum of green cover, increasing the availability of fodder and fuelwood for local use by the indigenous households, enhancements in crop production and productivity with higher acreage under horticulture crops, which have had positive spin-offs in terms of higher employment opportunities and better wages both for men and women within the project area itself; resulting in a reduction of migration to contiguous areas as well.

Effect of Capacity Building on Sustainability of Irrigation Projects in Rwanda a case of Kirehe Watershed Management Project (KWAMP)

Effect of Capacity Building on Sustainability of Irrigation Projects in Rwanda a case of Kirehe Watershed Management Project (KWAMP)

Project planning and project implementation success in Rwanda: A case of Sebeya Watershed Management Project, Rubavu District

Project planning and project implementation success in Rwanda: A case of Sebeya Watershed Management Project, Rubavu District

Assessment of NEWMAP Effects on Gully Erosion Control and Environmental Development over South East, Nigeria

The potential impacts of gully erosion over South Eastern Nigeria are a worrisome scenario. It has resulted in the displacement of millions of habitats, agricultural, and economic losses. The result of the effect of Nigerian Erosion Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) monitoring and evaluation on the effect of gully erosion on economic development in this study has revealed a positive significant influence at P < 0.05 over the study region. Also, it is revealed that NEWMAP programmes have significantly covered some constructions of hydraulic structures for flood routing and soil erosion control in South East, Nigeria. This intervention has significantly reduced the rate of land degradation occasioned by soil erosion, protection of watershed and agricultural land, which has thus been responsible for improved agricultural production. In conclusion, it is imperative to conduct periodic monitoring and evaluation of the activities of NEWMAP to building a strong evidence-based mechanism that enhances assessment of the diverse range of intervention projects on the dwellers of South-East extraction.

Assessment of NEWMAP Effects on Gully Erosion Control and Environmental Development over South East, Nigeria

The potential impacts of gully erosion over South Eastern Nigeria are a worrisome scenario. It has resulted in the displacement of millions of habitats, agricultural, and economic losses. The result of the effect of Nigerian Erosion Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) monitoring and evaluation on the effect of gully erosion on economic development in this study has revealed a positive significant influence at P < 0.05 over the study region. Also, it is revealed that NEWMAP programmes have significantly covered some constructions of hydraulic structures for flood routing and soil erosion control in South East, Nigeria. This intervention has significantly reduced the rate of land degradation occasioned by soil erosion, protection of watershed and agricultural land, which has thus been responsible for improved agricultural production. In conclusion, it is imperative to conduct periodic monitoring and evaluation of the activities of NEWMAP to building a strong evidence-based mechanism that enhances assessment of the diverse range of intervention projects on the dwellers of South-East extraction.

Towards collective action in ecosystem services governance: The recognition of social interdependencies in three collective agri-environmental initiatives in Quebec

Governing ecosystem services entails the recognition of mutual and interdependent relations between different actors (i.e. beneficiaries, providers and intermediaries) in relation to each other and the living world. Appreciating these social interdependencies requires understanding ecosystem services as commons, generated at the entanglement of social and biophysical relationships and requiring collective action mechanisms. The objective of this article is to study the processes by which social interdependencies are recognized, and how these processes shape the emergence of collective action in three agri-environmental initiatives in Quebec (Canada). These concern a local program of payment for ecosystem service, an integrated watershed management project, and a political coordination process among 16 rural municipalities. Through a qualitative analysis of observations, semi-structured interviews, and field visits with relevant stakeholders, this study outlines the processes involved in the recognition of social interdependencies beyond already established actions, and sometimes at the margins of the formalized agri-environmental initiative. While the three examples do not appear to be collective actions yet, they result in an increase in social capital, which serves as a crucial intermediary step towards achieving cooperation. Our results show that this emergent cooperation is based on constant (re)negotiation and adaptation, whereby intermediaries (e.g. agronomists, environmental coordinators, NGOs) play a key role by reinforcing existing social networks or opening opportunities for new social linkages. Finally, our results show that the social links and the institutions that encourage the collective recognition of social interdependencies are continuously co-constructed by actors and influenced by existing power asymmetries through processes of institutional bricolage.

Farmers and scientists in AR4D: Looking at a watershed management project through an STS lens

Farmers and scientists in AR4D: Looking at a watershed management project through an STS lens

Eliciting actors’ perspectives in integrated watershed management: exploring a practical tool based on a mental model approach

A profound understanding of actors’ perspectives on issues to be resolved is essential for researchers and practitioners in integrated natural resource management. Existing mental model approaches to systematically elicit such perspectives have been based on qualitative interviews, which implies small sample sizes or time-consuming analyses. Few studies have investigated complex projects of practical relevance. We studied the actors’ perspectives before the participatory process in a real-world integrated watershed management project through qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey based on a theoretical framework inspired by mental model approaches. We identified clear accordance and discordance among the perspectives regarding meanings of the water bodies, objectives for their management, and related beliefs. The mixed methods mental model approach proved to be a promising practical tool for the effective and efficient elicitation of actors’ perspectives in decision making.

A Revision of OPTEMP-LS Model for Selecting Optimal EMP Combination for Minimizing Sediment and Water Yield from Hilly Urban Watersheds

Hilly watersheds are inherently susceptible to more sediment and water yield. Urban developments in hills cause conversion of the natural sloppy surface to bare steep cuts, which are imperceptible in orthorectified satellite images. Sediment yield from such hilly watersheds is underestimated when estimation is performed in GIS platform. In order to improve the sustainability of ecological management practices in urban hilly watersheds, this paper revises the well-established optimal ecological management practices (EMP) allocation model “OPTimal EMP Model with Linear Programming for Single Ownership (OPTEMP-LS)” by incorporating the effect of steep hill cut area associated with the urban settlements in hills. This incorporation has basically caused a significant modification in the sediment yield constraints of the model. The revised model has been applied to an urban hilly watershed of Guwahati city. It is found that due to the consideration of soil loss from steep hill cuts, the EMP cost per unit settlement area in the hilly portion becomes 4.77 times higher than the unit cost for the plain portion of the watershed. Again, the implementation of EMPs has reduced the sediment yield from the watershed more efficiently than the peak runoff. Although this revised version of OPTEMP-LS is computationally more intensive, it gives a more realistic scenario of the total cost and efficiency of a watershed management project through the choice of EMPs individually for the plain and hilly area of the watershed as well as for the steep hill cuts.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF SWIDDEN FARMERS AND CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND USE: LESSONS FROM A WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROJECT IN NORTHERN LAOS

In Laos, located in mainland Southeast Asia, shifting cultivation has been one of the important means of livelihood, in terms of food security as well as religious and cultural anchorage, for local communities in a number of areas, especially in upland areas in the country. In Pakbeng District, Oudomxay Province, northern Laos, due to the implementation of various land and forest management policies and a village relocation and consolidation program, local communities were restricted from access to the forests and faced a shortage of agricultural lands. After facing difficulties in securing sufficient lands, the local farmers used the forests in a destructive manner. The author of this article was engaged with the Community-based Watershed Management Project, as a program director of an environmental NGO and tackled challenges to achieve a land and forest management system suitable for land use by local communities. The NGO attempted to apply an alternative approach to incorporate swidden farmers’ land use system into official land and forest management institutions.

Effect of terracing project on temporal-spatial variation of non-point source pollution load in Hujiashan watershed, China

Taking Hujiashan small watershed as the study area, based on the classified result of Landsat TM/ETM images of 2005, 2010 and 2015, combined with long-term field observation data, and used the export coefficient model, our study explored the effect of small watershed management project on temporal and spatial variation of total nitrogen (TN) load of non-point source pollution under the support of GIS technology. The results indicated that, due to the implementation of slope modification project, the area of cultivated land was significantly increased, while forest and bareland were decreased. The load of non-point source TN increased from 63208 kg in 2005 to 72778 kg in 2010, but reduced to 46876 kg in 2015. The contribution rate from residential areas was higher, the average contribution rate of the three periods was 53.5%, but it showed a decreasing trend year by year. The contribution rate of land use types was 45%, which showed an increasing trend year by year. The contribution rate of livestock was always low. From the spatial distribution, TN loading intensity was changed obviously after the terracing project. High load intensity zone was mainly concentrated on the slope of 5°-15° before terracing project. Nevertheless, high load intensity zone was concentrated on the slope of 15°-35° after terracing project, and 5°-8° had become a low load strength area. The TN load intensity changed little with time on the slope of 0°-8°, and it increased first and then decreased on the slope above 8°. With the treatment of sewage, garbage and livestock manure in rural areas, the output of nitrogen in the living and livestock breeding were significantly reduced. Due to the implementation of the project, the cultivated land area increased by 31%.

Influence of vegetation on runoff and sediment in wind-water erosion crisscross region in the upper Yellow River of China

All characteristics of vegetation, runoff and sediment from 1960 to 2010 in the Xiliu Gully Watershed, which is a representative watershed in wind-water erosion crisscross region in the upper reaches of the Yellow River of China, have been analyzed in this study. Based on the remote sensing image data, and used multi-spectral interpretation method, the characteristics of vegetation variation in the Xiliu Gully Watershed have been analyzed. And the rules of precipitation, runoff and sediment’s changes have been illuminated by using mathematical statistics method. What′s more, the influence mechanism of vegetation on runoff and sediment has been discussed by using the data obtained from artificial rainfall simulation test. The results showed that the main vegetation type was given priority to low coverage, and the area of the low vegetation coverage type was reducing year by year. On the country, the area of the high vegetation coverage type was gradually increasing. In a word, vegetation conditions had got better improved since 2000 when the watershed management project started. The average annual precipitation of the river basin also got slightly increase in 2000–2010. The average annual runoff reduced by 37.5%, and the average annual sediment reduced by 73.9% in the same period. The results of artificial rainfall simulation tests showed that the improvement of vegetation coverage could increase not only soil infiltration but also vegetation evapotranspiration, and then made the rainfall-induced runoff production decrease. Vegetation root system could increases the resistance ability of soil to erosion, and vegetation aboveground part could reduce raindrop kinetic energy and splash soil erosion. Therefore, with the increase of vegetation coverage, the rainfall-induced sediment could decrease.

Watershed Management Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in Kushk-Abad basin in Iran

Today, the situation of terrestrial and water resources are crucial due to their over exploitations. It is about 40 years, due to inter-regional and extra-regional effects of destruction of these resources, the implementation of watershed management plans on the natural resources has come into force to control and combat against the threats on all these resources. Despite four decades of executive tasks, these resources are under destruction and all the measures seem to have little effectiveness, totally. Moreover, integrated and ceaseless measures to assess the scope and causes of the failures of initiatives have not been done. The study adopted the qualitative and quantitative methods to assess watershed management of the Kushak Abad basin and Kardeh watershed area of Iran, before and after of the implementation using archival study, direct observation, in-depth interview and questionnaire. In order to sum the results, the factors were divided into seven groups and each then scored by using minor factors. The results showed that two factors are considered as important factors in the performance plan: the status of the provided plan and lack of economic assessment. The final score is 56 for this project according to the above method which Suggest the average performance of the plan. Key Words: Assessment, Watershed Management Project, Management, Experimental Models, Annual precipitation, Qualitative research.

Coupling mechanism of rural settlements and mountain disasters in the upper reaches of Min River

Human settlements are the place where human beings live,among which the rural settlements can be regarded as a reflection of human-land relationship in mountain areas because their vertical distribution is greatly influenced by the specific geographical environment and ecological conditions of mountains.Based on field investigation,this paper uses physical,geographical,and ecological theories to make a comprehensive study of rural settlements and mountain disasters in the upper Min River,which is an ecologically fragile area with high-frequency disasters(collapse,landslide,debris flow,etc.) and a minority inhabit district.By applying these modern scientific theories,this paper attempts to shed some light on the relationship between rural settlements and mountain disasters.Consequently,an in-depth understanding of this relationship was achieved as follows:(1) Rural settlements and mountain disasters are mainly distributed in the intercepted flows of water and soil; and both quantity and quality of arable lands in mountains are important indicators of these flows.(2) The Small Watershed Management Project is a complex system of rural settlements and mountain disasters that interacts with and constrains the ecological system.By this project,the human survival will be better guaranteed.Being fundamental for the ecological reconstruction,the coupling mechanism of rural settlements and mountain disasters is not only an engine to promote harmonious development between human and nature,but also a bridge to link them.

Mechanics and velocity of the Lärchberg–Galgenwald landslide (Austria)

The Lärchberg–Galgenwald landslide in Austria is situated in the south western slope of the Rantenbach valley, 2 km upstream of the town of Murau. The slope is made up of marbles some 300 m thick lying on a phyllite base some 140 m thick. The cracks of the main scarp, which are some 10 m wide, are monitored by wire extensometers and are opening with a precipitation dependent velocity of 30 cm per year. Numerical analyses showed that an overall volume of up to 10 000 000 m 3 might bury the road in the valley and dam up the Rantenbach River, causing a debris flow. Investigations of the risks of the scenarios and of the costs of mitigation measures have shown that sealing of the surfaces of the roadways, drainage and diversion of precipitation and the realization of a watershed management project are highly economical. The excavation of a by-pass tunnel for the Rantenbach river in the opposite slope, as well as a toe weight at the bottom of the slope in connection with a covered tunnel for the Rantenbach River, appear not to be economical from the present point of view.